1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to printed circuit board apparatus, and more particularly relates to apparatus and methods for removably connecting electrical components, such as processors, to the circuitry of printed circuit boards.
2. Description of Related Art
Electrical components, such as processors, to be operatively mounted on one side of a printed circuit board are typically provided with a spaced series of connector pins projecting downwardly from their undersides. An electrical interface between these pins and appropriate circuit points on the board is typically provided by a spaced series of solder-lined "through-holes" formed through the circuit board, and an interconnect device comprising a support board (commonly referred to as a "housing") to which a spaced series of transverse connector pins are secured.
The interconnect device pins have hollow upper ends adapted to frictionally receive the electrical component connector pins, and lower end portions which project downwardly from the underside of the support board and are configured and arranged to be inserted into and frictionally retained within the circuit board through-holes. To operatively mount the electrical component on one side of the circuit board the component connector pins are simply plugged into the open upper ends of the interconnect device pins, and the lower ends of the interconnect device pins are plugged into the circuit board through-holes.
While this through-hole method of connecting an electrical component to a printed circuit board is conventional and widely accepted, it has a well known disadvantage relating to the printed circuit board space which it requires. Specifically, due to the necessity of forming a closely spaced multiplicity of circuit board through-holes directly beneath the electrical component, the entire volume of the circuit board within the "footprint" of the mounted component is effectively dedicated to that component, the through-holes preventing the routing of circuitry for other components along the component side of the circuit board, through its interior, or along its opposite side, beneath the mounted component. The through-holes also, of course, prevent the mounting of a second electrical component on the opposite circuit board side directly opposite the first mounted component.
As printed circuit boards become more complex, and the desirability of reducing their overall size continues to increase, this large circuit board volume and surface area requirement associated with conventional "through-hole" component mounting methods has become considerably less acceptable. It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an improved, more space-efficient connection method, and associated apparatus, for operatively mounting electrical components on printed circuit boards.